London Buses route 344
London Buses route 344 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Clapham Junction and Liverpool Street, it is operated by Abellio London. History Route 344 commenced operation on 25 May 1991 ran between Clapham Junction and London Bridge stations. Operating from Victoria (GM) and Merton (AL) garages using MCW Metrobuses. The route was introduced as a replacement for the withdrawn section of route 44 as part of the Wandsworth area scheme. On 29 November 1992, the Sunday allocation was transferred to Gillingham Street Basement (GB) garage. The Sunday service was converted to minibus operation using Optare StarRiders. In June 1993, the Sunday allocation was transferred to Battersea (A) garage and the Optare StarRiders were replaced by Optare MetroRiders and Alexander bodied Mercedes 811D's. During July 1993, Gillingham Street (GB) was announced closed and the Monday to Saturday allocation was transferred to Stockwell (SW) garage. The route was fully converted to Optare MetroRider operation on Sundays. In September 1996, the Sunday allocation once again moved, this time back to Merton (AL) garage and the Optare MetroRiders were replaced by Plaxton Pointer bodied Dennis Darts. In September 1997, the whole allocation was transferred to Stockwell (SW) garage. On 29 May 1999, the route pass to Limebourne Buses operating from their Battersea (QB) garage using low floor Caetano Compass bodied Dennis Dart SLFs. On 28 August 1999, the route was diverted at Southwark Bridge to Liverpool Street station, as a partial replacement for a withdrawn peak hours extension on route 149. Route 344 is the only London Bus route to cross Southwark Bridge. On 3 February 2001, the Liverpool Street terminal was changed to Bishopsgate. In July 2001, the route was included in the sale of Limebourne Buses to Connex. On 6 June 2002, the route was converted back to double deck operation using Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents. The opening of Vauxhall bus station in December 2004 saw the route being diverted to serve it. On 26 February 2004, the route was included in the sale of Connex to Travel London. On 21 August 2004, the route was retained by Travel London. On 11 November 2006, the route became a 24-hour service. On 10 February 2007, brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s were introduced alongside the existing Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Tridents. In May 2009, the route was included in the sale of Travel London to Abellio London. On 22 August 2009, the route was retained by Abellio London using new and existing Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s. In August 2016, brand new Enviro 400MMC bodied Alexander Dennis E40Hs were introduced. On 20 August 2016, the route was retained by Abellio London using existing Alexander Dennis Enviro 400Hs and brand new Enviro 400 MMC bodied Alexander Dennis E40Hs. On 30 November 2019, the route was Withdrawn between Liverpool Street Station and Shoreditch and re-routed to Liverpool Street Bus Station via Wormwood Street. Current Route Route 344 operates via these primary locations: *Clapham Junction Station *Battersea Park Station *Vauxhall Bus Station *Albert Embankment *Elephant & Castle Station *London Bridge Station *Monument Station *Liverpool Street Bus Station External links *London Bus Routes Gallery *Full Timetable (PDF) 344, London Buses routes